Thursday, May 31, 2012

Pageant Club Lounge

Formally opened October14, 1954, across from "New Titches". Hyped as "Dallas' Newest and Finest Lounge", one ad read "Our magnificent decor will enchant your every moment...serving your favorite beers and wines (no liquor, eh?) -- your evening is sure to be most pleasant at the the beautiful new Pageant Club - modern throughout..." . I wonder how many of the clientele appreciated the connection between the RA phone prefix and the Ra Sun-God logo on the matchbook.

Just over a year later on Oct. 19, 1955 the news read, "A 1-alarm fire caused about $8,000 damage early Tuesday at the well-furnished Pageant Club..." The 1:25 a.m. fire was confined to the back of the lounge and about one tenth of the business area was destroyed. I couldn't find anything else in the newspaper about "the rest of the story." The Pageant Club apparently vanished as the smoke cleared.